KUCHING: Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 has asked Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg (pic) to immediately stop using his position as caretaker chief minister to campaign in the Sarawak state election.

       It said Abang Johari should not be announcing projects or allocations, officiating government events or signing any memorandum of understanding on behalf of the state for the moment.

       “The same message is also meant for former ministers of GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) who are candidates in the election.

       "The state secretary should issue an immediate directive to state civil servants and prohibit them from helping GPS in campaigns using government machinery and resources.

       “This includes the use of print and social media platforms owned by the state,” it said on Monday (Dec 13).

       It pointed out that although laws, including the Election Offences Act, have yet to cover standard operating procedure for caretaker or temporary governments, the use of government resources and machinery is in violation of the caretaker government convention such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union Declaration (IPU).

       Bersih said that according to the IPU, governments must take necessary measures to separate the role of political parties and government.

       It also pointed to Article 11 of the Bangkok Declaration which stated that government resources used to promote political interests during an election would cause the process to be unfair and the validity of the election results can be questioned.

       “Observations made by our team in Sarawak found that there were many instances where government machinery and resources were used for political interests,” it alleged.

       Bersih also issued a reminder on the importance of a clean and fair election so that all candidates and political parties are able to campaign on a level playing field.

       “We also urge the Election Commission to be proactive and tackle this matter,” it said.